Medication management reviews for people from the former Yugoslavia now resident in Australia

Aim: The objective of this prospective study was to conduct medication management reviews (MMR) in people from a non-English speaking background (NESB) (Bosnian/Serbian/ Croatian, from former Yugoslavia, currently residing in Australia) in their native language in order to identify medication-related problems (needs analysis) and implement appropriate therapeutic interventions, in collaboration with their general practitioners (GPs). Methods: Twenty-five participants entered the study. Each was interviewed and medication-related issues were identified by the health care team. Results: Various interventions (over 150 for the whole group, an average of 6 per participant), based on actual and potentia medication-related problems, were designed to improve the use of medicines. The MMRs introduced effective changes into the participants' health care. Psychological (e.g., feeling depressed) and sociological factors (e.g., costs of medicines, not understanding labels written in English) were identified having significant impacts on medication management. Conclusions: These data confirmed there are avoidable medication-related problems in people from a NESB. GPs and pharmacists working in health care teams with a trained interpreter could greatly improve medication use through regular review and a team approach to problem identification and solving.

Storm cycles in the last millennium recorded in Yongshu Reef, southern South China Sea

Large storm-relocated Porites coral blocks are widespread on the reef flats of Nansha area, southern South China Sea. Detailed investigations of coral reef ecology, geomorphology and sedimentation on Yongshu Reef indicate that such storm-relocated blocks originated from large Porites lutea corals growing on the spurs within the reef-front living coral zone. Because the coral reef has experienced sustained subsidence and reef development during the Holocene, dead corals were continuously covered by newly growing coral colonies. For this reason, the coral blocks must have been relocated by storms from the living sites and therefore the ages of these storm-relocated corals should approximate the times when the storms occurred. Rapid emplacement of these blocks is also evidenced by the lack of coral overgrowth, encrustation or subtidal alteration. U-series dating of the storm-relocated blocks as well as of in situ reef flat corals suggests that, during the last 1000 years, at least six strong storms occurred in 1064 +/- 30, 1210 +/- 5-1201 +/- 4, 1336 +/- 9, 1443 +/- 9, 1685 +/- 8-1680 +/- 6, 1872 +/- 15 AD, respectively, with an average 160-year cycle (110-240 years). The last storm, which occurred in 1872 15 AD, also led to mortality of the reef flat corals dated at similar to 130 years ago. Thus, the storm had significant impacts on coral reef ecology and morphology. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assembly processes of invertebrate communities in springs across different spatial scales

Il presente lavoro ha lo scopo di comprendere i processi sottesi ai pattern di coesistenza tra le specie di invertebrati sorgentizi, distinguendo tra dinamiche stocastiche e deterministiche. Le sorgenti sono ecosistemi complessi e alcune loro caratteristiche (ad esempio l’insularità, la stabilità termica, la struttura ecotonale “a mosaico”, la frequente presenza di specie rare ed endemiche, o l’elevata diversità in taxa) le rendono laboratori naturali utili allo studio dei processi ecologici, tra cui i processi di assembly. Al fine di studiare queste dinamiche è necessario un approccio multi-scala, per questo motivi sono state prese in considerazione tre scale spaziali. A scala locale è stato compiuto un campionamento stagionale su sette sorgenti (quattro temporanee e tre permanenti) del Monte Prinzera, un affioramento ofiolitico vicino alla città di Parma. In questa area sono stati valutati l’efficacia e l’impatto ambientale di diversi metodi di campionamento e sono stati analizzati i drivers ecologici che influenzano le comunità. A scala più ampia sono state campionate per due volte 15 sorgenti della regione Emilia Romagna, al fine di identificare il ruolo della dispersione e la possibile presenza di un effetto di niche-filtering. A scala continentale sono state raccolte informazioni di letteratura riguardanti sorgenti dell’area Paleartica occidentale, e sono stati studiati i pattern biogeografici e l’influenza dei fattori climatici sulle comunità. Sono stati presi in considerazione differenti taxa di invertebrati (macroinvertebrati, ostracodi, acari acquatici e copepodi), scegliendo tra quelli che si prestavano meglio allo studio dei diversi processi in base alle loro caratteristiche biologiche e all’approfondimento tassonomico raggiungibile. I campionamenti biologici in sorgente sono caratterizzati da diversi problemi metodologici e possono causare impatti sugli ambienti. In questo lavoro sono stati paragonati due diversi metodi: l’utilizzo del retino con un approccio multi-habitat proporzionale e l’uso combinato di trappole e lavaggio di campioni di vegetazione. Il retino fornisce dati più accurati e completi, ma anche significativi disturbi sulle componenti biotiche e abiotiche delle sorgenti. Questo metodo è quindi raccomandato solo se il campionamento ha come scopo un’approfondita analisi della biodiversità. D’altra parte l’uso delle trappole e il lavaggio della vegetazione sono metodi affidabili che presentano minori impatti sull’ecosistema, quindi sono adatti a studi ecologici finalizzati all’analisi della struttura delle comunità. Questo lavoro ha confermato che i processi niche-based sono determinanti nello strutturare le comunità di ambienti sorgentizi, e che i driver ambientali spiegano una rilevante percentuale della variabilità delle comunità. Infatti le comunità di invertebrati del Monte Prinzera sono influenzate da fattori legati al chimismo delle acque, alla composizione e all’eterogeneità dell’habitat, all’idroperiodo e alle fluttuazioni della portata. Le sorgenti permanenti mostrano variazioni stagionali per quanto riguarda le concentrazioni dei principali ioni, mentre la conduttività, il pH e la temperatura dell’acqua sono più stabili. È probabile che sia la stabilità termica di questi ambienti a spiegare l’assenza di variazioni stagionali nella struttura delle comunità di macroinvertebrati. L’azione di niche-filtering delle sorgenti è stata analizzata tramite lo studio della diversità funzionale delle comunità di ostracodi dell’Emilia-Romagna. Le sorgenti ospitano più del 50% del pool di specie regionale, e numerose specie sono state rinvenute esclusivamente in questi habitat. Questo è il primo studio che analizza la diversità funzionale degli ostracodi, è stato quindi necessario stilare una lista di tratti funzionali. Analizzando il pool di specie regionale, la diversità funzionale nelle sorgenti non è significativamente diversa da quella misurata in comunità assemblate in maniera casuale. Le sorgenti non limitano quindi la diversità funzionale tra specie coesistenti, ma si può concludere che, data la soddisfazione delle esigenze ecologiche delle diverse specie, i processi di assembly in sorgente potrebbero essere influenzati da fattori stocastici come la dispersione, la speciazione e le estinzioni locali. In aggiunta, tutte le comunità studiate presentano pattern spaziali riconoscibili, rivelando una limitazione della dispersione tra le sorgenti, almeno per alcuni taxa. Il caratteristico isolamento delle sorgenti potrebbe essere la causa di questa limitazione, influenzando maggiormente i taxa a dispersione passiva rispetto a quelli a dispersione attiva. In ogni caso nelle comunità emiliano-romagnole i fattori spaziali spiegano solo una ridotta percentuale della variabilità biologica totale, mentre tutte le comunità risultano influenzate maggiormente dalle variabili ambientali. Il controllo ambientale è quindi prevalente rispetto a quello attuato dai fattori spaziali. Questo risultato dimostra che, nonostante le dinamiche stocastiche siano importanti in tutte le comunità studiate, a questa scala spaziale i fattori deterministici ricoprono un ruolo prevalente. I processi stocastici diventano più influenti invece nei climi aridi, dove il disturbo collegato ai frequenti eventi di disseccamento delle sorgenti provoca una dinamica source-sink tra le diverse comunità. Si è infatti notato che la variabilità spiegata dai fattori ambientali diminuisce all’aumentare dell’aridità del clima. Disturbi frequenti potrebbero provocare estinzioni locali seguite da ricolonizzazioni di specie provenienti dai siti vicini, riducendo la corrispondenza tra gli organismi e le loro richieste ambientali e quindi diminuendo la quantità di variabilità spiegata dai fattori ambientali. Si può quindi concludere che processi deterministici e stocastici non si escludono mutualmente, ma contribuiscono contemporaneamente a strutturare le comunità di invertebrati sorgentizi. Infine, a scala continentale, le comunità di ostracodi sorgentizi mostrano chiari pattern biogeografici e sono organizzate lungo gradienti ambientali principalmente collegati altitudine, latitudine, temperatura dell’acqua e conducibilità. Anche la tipologia di sorgente (elocrena, reocrena o limnocrena) è influente sulla composizione delle comunità. La presenza di specie rare ed endemiche inoltre caratterizza specifiche regioni geografiche.

Technology valuation within the context of transfer collaborations with Chinese machine tool companies

The point of departure for this study was a recognition of the differences in suppliers' and acquirers' judgements of the value of technology when transferred between the two, and the significant impacts of technology valuation on the establishment of technology partnerships and effectiveness of technology collaborations. The perceptions, transfer strategies and objectives, perceived benefits and assessed technology contributions as well as associated costs and risks of both suppliers and acquirers were seen to be the core to these differences. This study hypothesised that the capability embodied in technology to yield future returns makes technology valuation distinct from the process of valuing manufacturing products. The study hence has gone beyond the dimensions of cost calculation and price determination that have been discussed in the existing literature, by taking a broader view of how to achieve and share future added value from transferred technology. The core of technology valuation was argued as the evaluation of the 'quality' of the capability (technology) in generating future value and the effectiveness of the transfer arrangement for best use of such a capability. A dynamic approach comprising future value generation and realisation within the context of specific forms of collaboration was therefore adopted. The research investigations focused on the UK and China machine tool industries, where there are many technology transfer activities and the value issue has already been recognised in practice. Data were gathered from three groups: machine tool manufacturing technology suppliers in the UK and acquirers in China, and machine tool users in China. Data collecting methods included questionnaire surveys and case studies within all the three groups. The study has focused on identifying and examining the major factors affecting value as well as their interactive effects on technology valuation from both the supplier's and acquirer's point of view. The survey results showed the perceptions and the assessments of the owner's value and transfer value from the supplier's and acquirer's point of view respectively. Benefits, costs and risks related to the technology transfer were the major factors affecting the value of technology. The impacts of transfer payment on the value of technology by the sharing of financial benefits, costs and risks between partners were assessed. The close relationship between technology valuation and transfer arrangements was established by which technical requirements and strategic implications were considered. The case studies reflected the research propositions and revealed that benefits, costs and risks in the financial, technical and strategic dimensions interacted in the process of technology valuation within the context of technology collaboration. Further to the assessment of factors affecting value, a technology valuation framework was developed which suggests that technology attributes for the enhancement of contributory factors and their contributions to the realisation of transfer objectives need to be measured and compared with the associated costs and risks. The study concluded that technology valuation is a dynamic process including the generation and sharing of future value and the interactions between financial, technical and strategic achievements.

Sales manager problem resolution styles:measure development and an examination of their salesperson-related consequences

Personal selling and sales management play a critical role in the short and long term success of the firm, and have thus received substantial academic interest since the 1970s. Sales research has examined the role of the sales manager in some depth, defining a number of key technical and interpersonal roles which sales managers have in influencing sales force effectiveness. However, one aspect of sales management which appears to remain unexplored is that of their resolution of salesperson-related problems. This study represents the first attempt to address this gap by reporting on the conceptual and empirical development of an instrument designed to measure sales managers' problem resolution styles. A comprehensive literature review and qualitative research study identified three key constructs relating to sales managers' problem resolution styles. The three constructs identified were termed; sales manager willingness to respond, sales manager caring, and sales manager aggressiveness. Building on this, existing literature was used to develop a conceptual model of salesperson-specific consequences of the three problem resolution style constructs. The quantitative phase of the study consisted of a mail survey of UK salespeople, achieving a total sample of 140 fully usable responses. Rigorous statistical assessment of the sales manager problem resolution style measures was undertaken, and construct validity examined. Following this, the conceptual model was tested using latent variable path analysis. The results for the model were encouraging overall, and also with regard to the individual hypotheses. Sales manager problem resolution styles were found individually to have significant impacts on the salesperson-specific variables of role ambiguity, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviours. The findings, theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

A sustainable supply chain study of the Indian bioenergy sector

In India, more than one third of the population do not currently have access to modern energy services. Biomass to energy, known as bioenergy, has immense potential for addressing India’s energy poverty. Small scale decentralised bioenergy systems require low investment compared to other renewable technologies and have environmental and social benefits over fossil fuels. Though they have historically been promoted in India through favourable policies, many studies argue that the sector’s potential is underutilised due to sustainable supply chain barriers. Moreover, a significant research gap exists. This research addresses the gap by analysing the potential sustainable supply chain risks of decentralised small scale bioenergy projects. This was achieved through four research objectives, using various research methods along with multiple data collection techniques. Firstly, a conceptual framework was developed to identify and analyse these risks. The framework is founded on existing literature and gathered inputs from practitioners and experts. Following this, sustainability and supply chain issues within the sector were explored. Sustainability issues were collated into 27 objectives, and supply chain issues were categorised according to related processes. Finally, the framework was validated against an actual bioenergy development in Jodhpur, India. Applying the framework to the action research project had some significant impacts upon the project’s design. These include the development of water conservation arrangements, the insertion of auxiliary arrangements, measures to increase upstream supply chain resilience, and the development of a first aid action plan. More widely, the developed framework and identified issues will help practitioners to take necessary precautionary measures and address them quickly and cost effectively. The framework contributes to the bioenergy decision support system literature and the sustainable supply chain management field by incorporating risk analysis and introducing the concept of global and organisational sustainability in supply chains. The sustainability issues identified contribute to existing knowledge through the exploration of a small scale and developing country context. The analysis gives new insights into potential risks affecting the whole bioenergy supply chain.

Tsunami disaster recovery experience:a case study on micro, small and medium scale enterprises in Southern Sri Lanka

Post-disaster recovery of Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) remains an issue of interest for policy and practice given the wide scale occurrences of natural disasters around the globe and their significant impacts on local economies and SMEs. Asian Tsunami of December 2004 affected many SMEs in southern Sri Lanka. The study was developed to identify the main issues encountered by the Tsunami affected SMEs in Southern Sri Lanka in the process of their post-tsunami recovery. The study: a) identifies tsunami damage and loss in micro and SMEs in the Galle district; b) ascertains the type of benefits received from various parties by the affected micro and SMEs; c) evaluates the problems and difficulties faced by the beneficiary organizations in the benefit distribution process; and d) recommends strategies and policies for the tsunami-affected micro and SMEs for them to become self-sustaining within a reasonable time frame. Fifty randomly selected tsunami-affected micro and SMEs were surveyed for this study. Interviews were conducted in person with the business owners in order to identify the damages, recovery, rehabilitation, re-establishment and difficulties faced in the benefit distribution process. The analysis identifies that the benefits were given the wrong priorities and that they were not sufficient for the recovery process. In addition, the many governance-related problems that arose while distributing benefits are discussed. Overall, the business recovery rate was approximately 65%, and approximately 88% of business organizations were sole proprietorships. Therefore, the policies of the tsunami relief agencies should adequately address the needs of sole proprietorship business requirements. Consideration should also be given to strengthen the capacity and skills of the entrepreneurs by improving operational, technological, management and marketing skills and capabilities.

Non-stationary stochastic inventory lot-sizing with emission and service level constraints in a carbon cap-and-trade system

Firms worldwide are taking major initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of their supply chains in response to the growing governmental and consumer pressures. In real life, these supply chains face stochastic and non-stationary demand but most of the studies on inventory lot-sizing problem with emission concerns consider deterministic demand. In this paper, we study the inventory lot-sizing problem under non-stationary stochastic demand condition with emission and cycle service level constraints considering carbon cap-and-trade regulatory mechanism. Using a mixed integer linear programming model, this paper aims to investigate the effects of emission parameters, product- and system-related features on the supply chain performance through extensive computational experiments to cover general type business settings and not a specific scenario. Results show that cycle service level and demand coefficient of variation have significant impacts on total cost and emission irrespective of level of demand variability while the impact of product's demand pattern is significant only at lower level of demand variability. Finally, results also show that increasing value of carbon price reduces total cost, total emission and total inventory and the scope of emission reduction by increasing carbon price is greater at higher levels of cycle service level and demand coefficient of variation. The analysis of results helps supply chain managers to take right decision in different demand and service level situations.

A horizontális és vertikális ágazaton belüli agrárkereskedelem meghatározó tényezői az EU új tagországaiban (Determinants of horizontal and vertical intra-industry agri-food trade in the new EU member-states)

Az ágazaton belüli kereskedelem egyre komolyabb szerepet tölt be a nemzetközi kereskedelemben, mind ez idáig azonban kevés mezőgazdasági témájú elemzés készült e témában. A cikk célja a horizontális és vertikális ágazaton belüli agrárkereskedelem meghatározó tényezőinek azonosítása az új tagországok és az EU–27 közötti kereskedelemben 1999–2010 között. Ehhez a szerző statikus és dinamikus panelmódszereket alkalmaz különböző specifikációkkal. Eredményei szerint a tényezőellátottság a horizontális ágazaton belüli kereskedelemmel negatív, míg a vertikálissal pozitív kapcsolatban áll. Az országok mérete az ágazaton belüli kereskedelem mindkét oldalával pozitívan, míg a távolság negatívan korrelál. Az eredmények azt is kimutatják, hogy az ágazaton belüli kereskedelem mértéke nagyobb, ha egy új tagország a kelet-közép-európai régióba exportál, és az is világossá vált, hogy az EU-csatlakozás pozitívan hatott az ágazaton belüli kereskedelemre, jelezve a gazdasági integráció kereskedelemösztönző szerepét. _____ Intra-industry trade (IIT) has a growing role in international trade, although the number of papers on its agricultural aspects is limited. This article identifies the determinants of horizontal and vertical intra-industry agri-food trade between new member-states (NMS) and the EU27 in 1999-2010, by applying to panel data static and dynamic models with different specifications. The results show that factor endowments are negatively related to agri-food horizontal intra-industry trade (HIIT), but positively to vertical intra-industry trade (VIIT). Economic size is positively and significantly related to both, while distance and IIT are found to be negatively related. This also suggests that HIIT and VIIT are greater if an NMS exports agri-food products to another NMS, while EU accession has had positive and significant impacts on both HIIT and VIIT, which suggests that economic integration fosters IIT.

Managing small-medium cities in a time of globalization: Experiences and evidence from Florida's public managers

This study examines how public management practitioners in small and medium-sized Florida cities perceive globalization and its impact on public management practice. Using qualitative analysis, descriptive statistics and factor analysis methods, data obtained from a survey and semi-structured interviews were studied to comprehend how public managers view the management and control of their municipalities in a time of globalization. The study shows that the public managers’ perceptions of globalization and its impact on public management in Florida’s small-medium cities are nuanced. Whereas some public managers feel that globalization has significant impacts on municipalities’ viability, others opine that globalization has no local impact. The study further finds that globalization processes are perceived as altering the public management functions of decision-making, economic development and service delivery in some small-medium cities in Florida as a result of transnational shifts, rapidly changing technologies, and municipalities’ heightened involvement in the global economy. The study concludes that the globalization discourse does not resonate among some public managers in Florida’s small-medium cities in ways implied in extant literature.

Hybrid approaches to estimating freeway travel times using point traffic detector data

The accurate and reliable estimation of travel time based on point detector data is needed to support Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications. It has been found that the quality of travel time estimation is a function of the method used in the estimation and varies for different traffic conditions. In this study, two hybrid on-line travel time estimation models, and their corresponding off-line methods, were developed to achieve better estimation performance under various traffic conditions, including recurrent congestion and incidents. The first model combines the Mid-Point method, which is a speed-based method, with a traffic flow-based method. The second model integrates two speed-based methods: the Mid-Point method and the Minimum Speed method. In both models, the switch between travel time estimation methods is based on the congestion level and queue status automatically identified by clustering analysis. During incident conditions with rapidly changing queue lengths, shock wave analysis-based refinements are applied for on-line estimation to capture the fast queue propagation and recovery. Travel time estimates obtained from existing speed-based methods, traffic flow-based methods, and the models developed were tested using both simulation and real-world data. The results indicate that all tested methods performed at an acceptable level during periods of low congestion. However, their performances vary with an increase in congestion. Comparisons with other estimation methods also show that the developed hybrid models perform well in all cases. Further comparisons between the on-line and off-line travel time estimation methods reveal that off-line methods perform significantly better only during fast-changing congested conditions, such as during incidents. The impacts of major influential factors on the performance of travel time estimation, including data preprocessing procedures, detector errors, detector spacing, frequency of travel time updates to traveler information devices, travel time link length, and posted travel time range, were investigated in this study. The results show that these factors have more significant impacts on the estimation accuracy and reliability under congested conditions than during uncongested conditions. For the incident conditions, the estimation quality improves with the use of a short rolling period for data smoothing, more accurate detector data, and frequent travel time updates.

Essays on corporate reputation: Antecedents and consequences

This dissertation studied the determinants and consequences of corporate reputation. It explored how firm-, industry-, and country-level factors influence the general public’s assessment of a firm’s reputation and how this reputation assessment impacted the firm’s strategic actions and organizational outcomes. The three empirical essays are grounded on separate theoretical paradigms in strategy, organizational theory, and corporate governance. The first essay used signaling theory to investigate firm-, industry-, and country-level determinants of individual-level corporate reputation assessments. Using a hierarchical linear model, it tested the theory based on individual evaluations of the largest companies across countries. Results indicated that variables at multiple analysis levels simultaneously impact individual level reputation assessments. Interactions were also found between industry- and country-level factors. Results confirmed the multi-level nature of signaling influences on reputation assessments. Building on a stakeholder-power approach to corporate governance, the second essay studied how differences in the power and preferences of three stakeholder groups—shareholders, creditors, and workers—across countries influence the general public’s reputation assessments of corporations. Examining the largest companies across countries, the study found that while the influence of stock market return is stronger in societies where shareholders have more power, social performance has a more significant role in shaping reputation evaluations in societies with stronger labor rights. Unexpectedly, when creditors have greater power, the influence of financial stability on reputation assessment becomes weaker. Exploring the consequences of reputation, the third essay investigated the specific effects of intangible assets on strategic actions and organizational outcomes. Particularly, it individually studied the impacts of acquirer acquisition experience, corporate reputation, and approach toward social responsibilities as well as their combined effect on market reactions to acquisition announcements. Using an event study of acquisition announcements, it confirmed the significant impacts of both action-specific (acquisition experience) and general (reputation and social performance) intangible assets on market expectations of acquisition outcomes. Moreover, the analysis demonstrated that reputation magnifies the impact of acquisition experience on market response to acquisition announcements. In conclusion, this dissertation tried to advance and extend the application of management and organizational theories by explaining the mechanisms underlying antecedents and consequences of corporate reputation.

Effects of Land Use on Sources and Ages of Inorganic and Organic Carbon in Temperate Headwater Streams

The amounts, sources and relative ages of inorganic and organic carbon pools were assessed in eight headwater streams draining watersheds dominated by either forest, pasture, cropland or urban development in the lower Chesapeake Bay region (Virginia, USA). Streams were sampled at baseflow conditions six different times over 1 year. The sources and ages of the carbon pools were characterized by isotopic (δ13C and ∆14C) analyses and excitation emission matrix fluorescence with parallel factor analysis (EEM–PARAFAC). The findings from this study showed that human land use may alter aquatic carbon cycling in three primary ways. First, human land use affects the sources and ages of DIC by controlling different rates of weathering and erosion. Relative to dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in forested streams which originated primarily from respiration of young, 14C-enriched organic matter (OM; δ13C = −22.2 ± 3 ‰; ∆14C = 69 ± 14 ‰), DIC in urbanized streams was influenced more by sedimentary carbonate weathering (δ13C = −12.4 ± 1 ‰; ∆14C = −270 ± 37 ‰) and one of pasture streams showed a greater influence from young soil carbonates (δ13C = −5.7 ± 2.5 ‰; ∆14C = 69 ‰). Second, human land use alters the proportions of terrestrial versus autochthonous/microbial sources of stream water OM. Fluorescence properties of dissolved OM (DOM) and the C:N of particulate OM (POM) suggested that streams draining human-altered watersheds contained greater relative contributions of DOM and POM from autochthonous/microbial sources than forested streams. Third, human land uses can mobilize geologically aged inorganic carbon and enable its participation in contemporary carbon cycling. Aged DOM (∆14C = −248 to −202 ‰, equivalent14C ages of 1,811–2,284 years BP) and POM (∆14C = −90 to −88 ‰, 14C ages of 669–887 years BP) were observed exclusively in urbanized streams, presumably a result of autotrophic fixation of aged DIC (−297 to −244 ‰, 14C age = 2,251–2,833 years BP) from sedimentary shell dissolution and perhaps also watershed export of fossil fuel carbon. This study demonstrates that human land use may have significant impacts on the amounts, sources, ages and cycling of carbon in headwater streams and their associated watersheds.

Evaluating the effectiveness of signal timing optimization based on microscopic simulation evaluation

The optimization of the timing parameters of traffic signals provides for efficient operation of traffic along a signalized transportation system. Optimization tools with macroscopic simulation models have been used to determine optimal timing plans. These plans have been, in some cases, evaluated and fine tuned using microscopic simulation tools. A number of studies show inconsistencies between optimization tool results based on macroscopic simulation and the results obtained from microscopic simulation. No attempts have been made to determine the reason behind these inconsistencies. This research investigates whether adjusting the parameters of macroscopic simulation models to correspond to the calibrated microscopic simulation model parameters can reduce said inconsistencies. The adjusted parameters include platoon dispersion model parameters, saturation flow rates, and cruise speeds. The results from this work show that adjusting cruise speeds and saturation flow rates can have significant impacts on improving the optimization/macroscopic simulation results as assessed by microscopic simulation models.

Patch selection behaviour in the presence of environmental constraints

Habitat selection behaviour is the primary way in which organisms are able to regulate encounters with their biotic and abiotic environment. An individual chooses an area that best meets their current needs, particularly regarding safety and the presence of high-quality food. Several physical aspects of the environment can make it difficult for individuals to assess the relative habitat quality of the areas available, thus leading to suboptimal habitat selection. In this thesis, I investigated the way in which two aquatic habitat constraints - obstacles to movement between patches and turbidity - affected the ability of fish to make optimal patch choices, using threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus as a model species. Laboratory experiments showed that when movement between patches was hindered by increasingly challenging obstacles, groups of stickleback did not move as freely between the patches, and thus had greater deviations from the predictions of the Ideal Free Distribution (IFD). I also demonstrated that, unlike other species, stickleback do not use turbid environments to avoid predator detection. A trend was seen towards avoidance of a turbid food patch regardless of risk level, although this was not statistically significant. As expected, the stickleback avoided feeding in the presence of a predator regardless of water clarity. Overall, I found that both turbidity and movement constraints can have significant impacts on patch use and distribution in the threespine stickleback. Both turbidity and ease of transit will impact the distribution of ecologically important species like the threespine stickleback, and therefore should be taken into account when studying habitat selection in the wild.